Gidion’s Knot

Two women sit down together to discuss one 11-year-old boy, who may or may not have done something he shouldn’t have. One woman is his mother, the other his teacher. It is, in fact, the dreaded parent-teacher conference, amped up to the nth degree in Gidion’s Knot. “Both are dealing with a very tragic thing that happened,” says actor-director Sally Edmundson, who is directing the one-act.

“What it is really about is two women, the two most influential women in this boy’s life, navigating the minefield of how to make peace and their roles in what happened.” Playwright Johnna Adams’s 75-minute play has elements of a thriller, as it demonstrates how two people can be talking to each other and almost completely misunderstand what the other is trying to say.

Shelley Calene-Black (The Language Archive) plays the mother, and Bridget Beirne (Road Show) the teacher. The boy is never seen. Advised by her principal and the school attorney not to reveal certain things for legal reasons, the teacher is in the awkward position of not being able to clearly state what has happened. “She loves these children. She also doesn’t want to lose her job,” Edmundson said. “But here’s this woman, the mother of the child, who deserves the truth. The rules don’t fit the situation.”